Okay so I was debating where to bring this story and after a few hours I went with my first thought. I hope you guys like it and don't hate it. Review and let me know.
Lucas had to get out of the hospital. He couldn't take it any longer. He felt like the walls were closing in on him and he couldn't breath. As he walked to find a place to collect his thoughts the only thing he could hear was Brooke's last words as he walked out of her room, "You said I could tell you anything and it wouldn't change anything." He couldn't look at her as he said, "It hasn't changed anything." He left the room with both of them crying and her whispering "Goodbye Lucas."
'When did everything in life get so fucked up and complicated' he thought to himself. He found himself at the one place he could always go when he needed to clear his head, the Rivercourt. He sat down on the grass and re-lived the conversation he just had with Brooke.
"What happened last night Brooke?"
He noticed her hesitate before answering. "I lost my balance and tripped, that's all. You know clumsy I can be sometimes" she said and smiled a half smile.
"Okay, but how did you lose your balance. I've never seen you clumsy before. I heard you telling your mother that the party was your idea and not Nathan's, so why did you lie about that? Why are you protecting him?"
"Luke, if my mother sends Nathan home, then you go to. I'm not going to screw up everyone's life. If I had just calmed down and did not argue with him, she wouldn't be here and know about everything."
"Wait, what do you mean? How did an argument with Nathan end with you in the hospital?" He was starting to get infuriated. "Did he push you?"
"No Luke. We were arguing and he grabbed me. I tried to pull away…"
"I'm going to kill him, I swear to god," he said as he got up to go."
"No Luke. You have to sit. I need to tell you something and if I don't do it now, I don't think I'll have the courage to later."
He sat back down on the bed and held her hand. "Okay, so you know how you asked me why I have been acting differently lately? And I have been sick?"
"Brooke are you…pregnant? Were you pregnant?" He asked almost scared to hear the answer.
She saw the look of pure fear cross his face when he asked that question. "No Luke, I'm not and I wasn't." She saw him release the breath he was holding in and a tear rolled down her cheek.
"What's wrong, pretty girl" he asked while he wiped her tear away with his hand.
"I'm sick, Luke."
"Do you want me to get a doctor? I can come back after you've gotten some rest."
"No, Luke. You're not listening to me. I'm sick and I don't know when I will get better." She saw his face contort as he was trying to comprehend what she was saying. "I found out the day you told me you were going to move. I went to the doctors and they sent me to the oncologist."
"Oncologist? Brooke that's a cancer doctor."
"I know Luke. That's what I'm trying to tell you."
He pulled his hand away from hers. "No. I think you made a mistake Brooke. You probably misunderstood them." She shook her head no at him and a sudden urge of anger overcame him. "You have known about this for over three weeks and you didn't tell me."
"I'm sorry Lucas," she said through sobs. "I didn't want this to change the way you looked at me or felt about me."
"This isn't fair. You made me fall in love with you and you couldn't even be honest with me. I have to go." He needed to get out of here and gather his thoughts.
"You said I could tell you anything and it wouldn't change anything," she said through her sobs.
"It hasn't changed anything" he said and walked out the door.
He couldn't comprehend that she was sick. She was so young and full of life. He was going to marry her one-day, and they were going to have a family. Why would she keep something like this from him? He couldn't stop the tears from coming again.
"Luke, are you okay?" He was snapped from his thoughts while he took in the voice. He jumped up and all of his anger came again. He lurched forward and his fist connected with his brother's jaw.
"What the fuck is your problem Luke" Nathan yelled. "That fucking hurt."
Lucas couldn't control his anger at the moment. He punched his brother again. When Nathan fell, he jumped on top of him and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "You son of a bitch. You are the reason Brooke fell. How the hell could you do that? I swear to god, I'm going to kill you."
Nathan shielded his face with his arms and blurted out, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I tried to grab her before she fell, but it happened too fast. I feel horrible and I deserve every punch you throw at me. I'm, I'm sorry Luke."
Lucas released his brother and stood up. "I can't be here. I can't even look at you in the face right now. I need to get away from here. I'm going home."
"Luke wait. What about Brooke. What happened, why are you leaving?"
"She's sick Nathan. I can't do this with you. I can't be here. I need to go away for a few days."
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It had been two months since he left Tree Hill. He was only going to leave for a few days, but he couldn't bring himself to go back. He felt horrible about it, because he missed Brooke. He wanted to be with her everyday and be there to hold her hand through everything, but he couldn't bring himself to see her in pain. He had tried to call her and he left her messages, but she never returned his calls. He had tried again tonight and again no pick up. He left her a long message just telling her that he loved her, but he was hurt that she didn't tell him. He told her he just needed some time to clear his head before he came back, but not to give up on him. He was surprised when his phone went off two hours later to alert him to a new message. In fact two new messages. One from her and one from his brother that he had, had no contact with since he had that altercation with at the Rivercourt.
He decided that he would read Nathan's first.
Luke, I know you hate me and I get it. I deserve it, but Brooke doesn't deserve this. She told me she was sick. I've tried to be a better friend to her to help ease the pain of you leaving, but it's not the same. I've been going to her apptmnts with her so she has someone to hold her hand. I think she's giving up Lucas. She tells me she's not, but I can see she is. She needs you. –Nate
For some reason he felt his anger building up again. He was the one who was supposed to be there holding her hand, not his brother. How could she be so selfless and not hate him for letting her fall? He answered his own question—because she was one of a kind and never one to not forgive.
Time to read the one from Brooke. He held his breath and pushed open.
Lucas, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I should have been honest with you, but I was afraid that you wouldn't look at me the way you had before. I hope that you are happy back home, I really do. You deserve the best in life and I want nothing from this life but for you to be happy. You gave me something no one else could—you loved me. I'm so grateful that I got the chance to love you. You changed my life, for the better and I'll never forget that. Don't worry about coming back Luke. Find happiness and when you do, don't let it go. You deserve it. Your love has given me the strength to do things I didn't think possible. Without you I wouldn't have formed the friendships I have over the past months with Nathan, Haley & Peyton. I'll love you forever. Be happy Lucas. Change the world, like you changed mine. –Brooke
He could barely hold back the tears when he read her message. She was amazing. With everything she was going through, she was giving him encouraging messages. She believed that he could change the world and he was sitting here like a baby crying. It was pathetic. He should be at home making her fight to get better, fighting to make her fall more in love with him, and fighting for their future together. He wasn't going to listen to her and not go back. There couldn't be happiness in his life if she wasn't in it. He couldn't let her fight this alone and give up hope. He wasn't going to sit back anymore and wait for what might come. It was time to help her fight for her life. He was going to go back to Tree Hill and fight with her and he was going back tonight.
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Brooke had come to terms with Lucas leaving. She knew he didn't leave because he didn't love her. Hell if she could have run away from it all she would have. A lot had changed since Lucas left. Her father lost his company and committed suicide. Her mother had to sell the house and buy a smaller three bedroom home to pay for Brooke's treatment, she had formed a brother/sister bond with Nathan, and Haley and Peyton were constantly around. She had this bond with them all that was unbreakable. They still took her out with them everywhere they went, except for basketball games, because it reminded her too much of Lucas. Those were the nights she would miss him the most, because she was by herself.
Nathan had asked her one night if she was giving up, when her body wasn't responding well to the new treatment she was undergoing. She had told him the only thing she could think of. No, she wasn't giving up hope. She had her family and friends to fight for, they meant more to her than anyone. Except Lucas. She missed him, but without him around she had days when she didn't want to fight anymore.
When she had been in the hospital she got really worried that she would fall behind on her project. Nathan had come to see her the evening Lucas left. He reassured her that Lucas had finished it and gave it to hand in. Nathan had confessed that it was his fault and cried his apology to her. Brooke had already forgiven him the moment he walked in. He was the one who told Brooke that Lucas had left. He was the one who sat with her while she cried. That night they formed a bond that Brooke had become almost dependent on. He and Haley were there when she chopped off her hair to her shoulders and cried. She wanted to cut her hair short so that if she lost it then it wouldn't hurt so much. Nathan was the first one to tell her she looked beautiful. She looked on her bedside table and saw the picture from that night. Brooke, Nathan, and Haley all sat on the couch with their arms around each other and big smiles on their faces. That was also the night that Nathan confessed he had kissed another girl the night of the accident.
Haley and Nathan worked out their problems when Brooke gave them the life is short speech. They all cried that night, but that was the night that they truly became inseparable. The next picture was of her and Peyton. Haley had taken it at Brooke's house on Christmas Eve. Peyton had just given her a c.d. that was filled with the songs that she thought of when she thought of Brooke and how strong she was. They were in a hug with the Christmas tree decorated in the background. The last picture, closest to her bed was of her and Lucas. It was one that she had taken the day before the accident after they had made love. Her had her in his arms and was kissing her on the tip of her nose. God she missed how he felt against her. She fought back the tears, because as long as he was happy that is all that matters.
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Lucas arrived in Tree Hill the following morning. It felt like he had been on the plane for longer than six hours. He just needed to get out of here and go see Brooke. He knew that they had moved and he didn't have the address. He opened up his phone and made the call that he should have a long time ago.
"Hi, Luke. How's California? Nice to hear from you after all this time" Nathan said almost bitterly.
"Hey Nate. I'm not sure because I'm not there. I'm back in Tree Hill. I was so miserable without Brooke, so I am back. I want to be here for her."
"Lucas you can't come back. Brooke needs stability and if you are going to leave when the pressure gets too much, you'll just break her will to fight anymore."
"Nathan, I'm not going anywhere ever again. I should have never left and I know I made a mistake, but I'm back for good. I'm here to help Brooke fight this."
"It's good to have you back. She's finishing up her chemo, but we'll be home in about an hour if you want to meet us there."
"Yea, but I need the address." Nathan gave him the address and he scribbled it down before going to hail a cab.
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The chemo treatment had Brooke especially sick today. She just wanted to go home and sleep. She was so tired that she could barely walk, so Nathan carried her. Victoria had to go out of town for business, even though she never wanted to leave Brooke's side anymore. Brooke made her go though because in all reality they needed the money. Brooke had to quit her job at the café about two weeks after she started because her treatments made her so sick. She noticed Nathan seemed a bit on edge today, almost excited but nervous about something. "What's wrong Nate? You look like something is on your mind."
He smiled and said, "Nothing, just thinking about the game Friday night." He was hoping that having Lucas back was going to perk her up, although he knew she didn't want him to see her like this. She had confessed to him one day, after treatment that if Lucas were here to see her so weak she would be ashamed. He had a feeling that this was what she needed though.
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It seemed like much longer than an hour that he had been waiting. The anticipation was driving him crazy. He had walked around the new house and looked at everything. He had paid attention to all of the new things he saw in her bedroom. Lots of pictures with Nathan, Haley, and Peyton. He felt like he had missed out on so much of her life lately, and truth be told, he had. When he heard a car pull into the driveway he peeked out the window and saw Nathan carrying her in. His heart felt like it dropped in his chest. His pretty girl looked so week. He stood back, not wanting her to be startled when she saw him.
"Nathan, seriously you can put me down now. I'm not a cripple, just a bit weak. I'm going to go lay down. Would you mind bringing me up a glass of orange juice," she asked.
He walked out from behind the shadows and said, "I can bring you up your drink, if you don't mind."
She froze where she stood. She had to grab Nathan's arm to steady herself. "Lucas, is that really you? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here for you pretty girl and I'm never leaving again. I know I was an ass to leave and I regret it everyday of my life. Is it okay with you if I stay?"